I believe it will definitely be hundreds, maybe close to a thousand or several thousand, says French Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville about the death toll in Mayotte, according to AFP.
So far, 14 deaths have been confirmed.
Images in French media show how neighborhoods built as shantytowns have been leveled to the ground. All the particularly vulnerable buildings – with closely spaced metal sheds – have been destroyed, according to the French prefect's crisis team.
"There's nothing left standing there," the team reports, according to Mayotte la 1ère, a local branch of France's public service media.
A third of the island group's population lives in such areas. The cyclone has also cut off electricity, water, and communication lines, and hundreds of people have been taken to hospitals.
Mayotte is an island group located off the east coast of Africa, northwest of Madagascar. The islands have been ruled by France since the mid-19th century and are the country's poorest region.
The cyclone, named Chido, has continued westward and reached Mozambique's coast on Sunday morning.
"Many homes, schools, and healthcare facilities have been partially or completely destroyed," reports UN aid agency Unicef.
